Chapter Forty-four
The pain in her arm woke her. Disoriented, she worked to get her mind focused on what was going on. Voices were close…both spoke English. The man’s was heavily accented Italian. The woman’s held a hint of Irish. Reality crashed and panic zoomed to the surface. Rudy Bianchi and Ivy Roane. They had taken her. Jonah wouldn’t know what had happened. He wouldn’t—
Wait. Yes, he would. He would know, and he would come for her. She needed to stay alive, and she needed to find out where they were taking her and what they planned.
The two killers sat in the front seat like normal people on an outing, and were either unaware or uncaring that she could hear everything they said. She feared it was the latter, as the plan they discussed was simplistic but as deadly as they come. Jonah was to be lured. Ivy would then make an example of him to his family. Apparently, she had decided to forgo vengeance for all the other Slaters. Jonah would be the sacrificial lamb.
And Rudy. Rudy planned to enjoy her the way he hadn’t had the chance twelve years ago.
Neither she nor Jonah was expected to survive this ordeal.
With her wrists and ankles zip-tied, duct tape covering her mouth, and a bullet wound in her arm, she had little choice but to wait until she got the chance to escape. Attacking them now would only get her shot again.
There was hope. Grey would be tracking her location. Her bracelet was intact. Also, based on what Ivy had described as her plan to lure Jonah, the woman had Gabby’s phone. Both items held trackers. Plus, the camera hidden in the doorframe at her apartment would reveal her attackers’ identities.
And while it was only a matter of time before she was found, Gabby didn’t intend to wait. A trap was being set for Jonah, and she could not allow that to happen.
She imagined all the things that might be going through his mind right now. He would want to save her, that was a given. But what kinds of torture was he putting himself through? Even though this was a totally different situation, he would no doubt compare this to Teri’s abduction. And he would do everything in his power to rescue her without an ounce of concern for himself.
While she appreciated and loved him for his self-sacrificing heroism, she didn’t intend him to do this on his own. Or even with assistance from Grey’s people. She was going to do everything she could to save herself. It was what Raiza would expect of her, but more important, it was what she expected of herself.
She could almost hear Raiza’s voice whispering in her ear. Wait. Watch. Act. That set in her mind, Gabby tamped down her fear and pain as she continued to listen.
“The house is down this road, just a couple more miles.”
“I still don’t like that we didn’t take her back to Rome. I have a special place I’d already picked out. No one would’ve ever found her.”
Ivy restrained herself from releasing a disgusted sigh. Maintaining a pleasant demeanor around this creep was getting harder. She would be glad when this job was over. The money might be good, but there was just so much whining she could put up with. This freak was supposed to have killed at least six girls, but she couldn’t imagine him having enough gumption to harm anyone. Yes, he looked the part, but from what she could tell, he was a spoiled child hiding in a giant’s body.
“If you had planned to keep her longer, taking her there would have made sense. But you said yourself you only want her for a few days.”
“Yes, but I have dreamed of this for a long time. Having her exactly the way I imagined would make this much more pleasurable.”
Talking sense to him was a waste of time, so she didn’t bother. “Turn right at this road. The house is about half a mile from here. It’s perfect for what we need. Isolated but no trees or bushes. We’ll see Slater long before he makes it inside.”
As Rudy made the turn, he glanced over his shoulder at the woman lying in the backseat. “I’ve got what I wanted. Slater’s your problem, not mine.”
Ha. That’s what he thought. If let loose, Jonah Slater would make mincemeat of Rudy Bianchi. She had only one goal—to kill a Slater. And this one was the one she wanted to kill most. He had been the one to shoot her in the head. Even though the bullet had only grazed her scalp, she had bled profusely. If not for a local fisherman spotting her in the water and pulling her out, she would have either drowned or been eaten by sharks. It was way past time for her to return the favor to Jonah Slater. Only her aim would be truer than his had been. The bastard would be dead before he hit the floor.
Before they’d entered Gabriella’s apartment, she had insisted the money owed to her be paid in full. She also wanted to get a hold of that sapphire. For such a braggart, he had been ridiculously closemouthed about the thing. If the jewel was indeed worth millions, then she had one more reason for wanting Rudy dead.
Of course, if she killed him, there was always the risk of ruining her reputation. People tended to balk at hiring a killer who might turn on them. She was willing to take the risk, though. The money she’d made with this job, plus the millions she could make off the jewel, would go a long way in easing any unemployment woes.
The house appeared. Late afternoon had turned to dusk. It had rained earlier, and now a thick fog was settling around the old two-story farmhouse. Peeling white paint and black shutters hanging haphazardly from the soiled windows completed the picture of a secluded and desolate structure. The setting couldn’t have been more perfect.
She had rented the house a couple of weeks ago. The seventies décor was hideously outdated, but for their purposes, it couldn’t have been better. No one around for miles to hear those pesky hair-raising screams some people tended to make when they were being tortured.
Not that she planned any kind of torture herself. Not her thing. One shot through Slater’s heart ought to take care of her part. Anything more complicated or fancy and there could be problems. She’d waited too long to accomplish this goal. It was time to get the job done and get on with her life.
“Park around back. You can carry her in through the kitchen. There’s a bedroom off the kitchen.”
“I need a lot of room.”
She wasn’t even going to ask why. “Then you might want to carry her upstairs. There’s a big room on the right when you get to the landing.”
Grunting his approval, Rudy pulled around back and parked. Ivy got out of the vehicle. She had plenty of time to get things in order for her meeting with Slater. And while she was doing that, Rudy would be out of her hair, enjoying himself.
“Hold on. I need to make a quick recording for Slater.”
She clicked record on the girl’s iPhone, shooting Gabriella from several angles. Her eyes fluttered, and Ivy figured she was feigning unconsciousness. Didn’t matter. She was tied up like a steer. No way could she get loose.
Satisfied, she nodded at Bianchi. The girl was his to do with what he wanted.
If she’d had a conscience, she might have spared a moment of pity for what lay ahead for Gabriella Mendoza. Since she had none, she walked away from the vehicle without a second glance.